DP Drabble Collection
by DarkNymfa
Summary: Drabbles and other short bits of writing. Mostly prompt fills from Tumblr, but might be other short stuff that wasn't long enough to post separately. Rating might change. Latest: Snow, Trail, Avalanche, (Un)Known, Hounded
1. Sunshine

Start of a drabble collection bc sometimes writing long things is hard. If you want to get involved in this stuff, send me an ask on Tumblr (inky-interest). No promises on how long these will be though, since I'm kind of just making this up as I go.

First prompt was "sunshine" for dan-phantom-0.

* * *

Soft grass curled between his fingers as he dug them into the earth, relishing in the feeling. He closed his eyes, allowing gravity to pull him onto his back. The grass tickled the back of his neck, but Danny didn't mind.

Instead he took a deep breath. Took comfort in the feeling of air rushing through his lungs, in the slow but steady beat of his heart in his chest.

He studiously ignored the cold spot that had settled right over his heart. Ignored its quiet hum, its steady pulse of energy.

Instead, he opened his eyes and gazed at the park around him. He was sitting on a hill, in a quiet part of Amity's park. Sam and Tucker would be there soon, but for now, he would enjoy the peace.

The sun shone bright, rays of light casting patterns on the foliage around him. But Danny had picked his spot with care, and no shadows loomed over him.

Instead, he bathed in the sunshine, its cheery light warming him to his core. And, as he closed his eyes once more, he let it.

Let the warm light flood over him, chasing away the eerie cold emanating from somewhere deep inside him.

And, for just a little longer, he could ignore it. Could ignore the way he had changed, mere days ago.

How he wasn't quite human anymore.

A warm body settled next to him before he could dwell on the thought. Another soon joined in, leaning against his other side.

"Hey man, how're you feeling?"

Danny grunted in response, but opened his eyes and smiled at the two of them. "Better. The warm weather helps, I think."

"Yeah?" Sam asked, a note of curiosity in her voice. "I wonder why..."

Danny shrugged, still on the ground. "I dunno. Maybe it doesn't, maybe I'm just imagining it."

"Nah," Tucker denied, waving it off. "I think it makes sense. You said that your, uh, 'ghostly energy' feels cold, yeah? So then if you're feeling warm, you're less likely to accidentally trigger it."

"Huh. Tucker actually gave a smart answer for once." Sam winked exaggeratedly at Danny. "Miracles _do_ happen."

Danny grinned back, pushing himself up onto his elbows. "Well, you know what they say. Even broken clocks say the right time twice a day."

"Wow," Tucker grumbled, making no attempt to hide the smile on his face. "I can't believe the disrespect happening here. Just, really feeling the love, guys."

Danny swung an arm around Tucker's shoulders, before pulling the boy against him. "Really, couldn't do it without you." He turned to look at Sam. "Without either of you, really. Even if I _do_ tell my parents, you two… You were vital- _are_ vital. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Sap," Sam teased, but her eyes sparkled with joy. Tucker, still leaning against him, ruffled Danny's hair. Danny, in turn, released the darker boy again.

"Yeah, what she said." He nodded, a wise expression on his face. Danny barely repressed the urge to shove him.

"Well, whatever happens next," he said instead, "we'll figure this out together."

"Together," Sam and Tucker chorused, as the three of them laid down together.


	2. Moonlight

Prompt was "Moonlight" by phantasmapurple9. Since the theme was pretty similar to the last one, I decided to go with a sequel of sorts.

* * *

Pale moonlight misted over the clearing, the colors washed out and silvery. It looked ethereal, like how one might imagine the world of the ghosts. Not that the Ghost Zone looked even remotely like this, but still.

Danny sighed, his head resting in his hand, which in turn was propped up on his knee. It was late, and he probably shouldn't be out here. His mom would've been upset, probably. She didn't know that Danny could protect himself, after all.

Even in the darkness of the park, with no streetlights nearby, he could see threats coming from miles away. Thanks, ghostly senses. Where would he be without them?

Probably not in the park, alone, at midnight. Hell, he had phased through the closed gates to even get here in the first place.

He wasn't sure why he had come here, anyway. He had better things to do with his time than lie here in the park. Homework, sabotaging his parents' inventions, sleep… Yeah, sleep for sure.

But no, here he was. Sitting all alone in the park. At midnight.

Danny groaned, falling onto his back with his arms spread wide. The grass tickled the back of his neck and his bare arms, but he didn't mind.

He knew when he had been here last time. Before all the ghosts had started showing up, when his life went completely down the drain.

It had been this hill where he had sat with Sam and Tucker, days after the accident. Before he had even known _what_ , exactly, had happened to him.

And now, here he was. Amity Park's Protector, the great Danny Phantom. The Great One, Pariah's Bane. One of the most powerful ghosts known to mankind.

Oh, if only they had seen him back then. Only the most basic abilities, and barely in control of them as well.

Yeah, much had changed since then. But not everything.

No, in quiet moments like these, he still felt like had back then. Displaced. Like he had been knocked out of alignment and couldn't quite straighten himself again.

Like his spot in life had been bent irreversibly, and now he didn't fit in anymore.

Or, more likely, it was _him_ that had been damaged. No longer truly part of the living, right? So it made sense that he couldn't slot back in.

Even when he was without his powers… The experience had changed him, and he would never be truly alive again.

He didn't know much about the exact events of Dan's formation, only enough to avoid it. And he definitely didn't know what had happened to the separated human half.

But he was sure that _he_ wouldn't have fitted in either.

And, well. If he was knocked out of line regardless of what he did, if he couldn't bend himself back in the right shape. Then he should make the most out of the circumstances, right?

If gaining his ghost powers had costs his this much… Well, better make them worth the price, right?


	3. Rose

Prompt was "Rose" by phantasmapurple9. I strongly considered not writing Blood Blossoms... but then I wanted to write Valerie and this happened.

* * *

Paper crisped as Valerie repeatedly clenched and unclenched her fist. Her nerves were killing her. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so anxious, so _worried_.

And, sure, compared to some of the things she went through on a daily basis, it wasn't a big deal. And maybe to some people it _wasn't_. But it _was_ to _her_.

Because this could so easily go wrong. There were so many things that could mess up, that could stop her from succeeding. And she had thought it through well, considered as many possibilities as she could… But she couldn't help but worry that she had missed something. She wasn't used to this, to planning ahead.

But it would be worth it. That, she was sure of.

She just… had to go and _do this_. Get over her nerves and approach the boy she was crushing on.

It wasn't like he didn't like her back! She _knew_ he does, or _did_ , at least. They had dated, after all. Only, she had broken up with him. Had been too afraid of him getting hurt because of her ghost hunting. Hadn't known how she could keep him safe.

So she had stepped away, had left him. Had watched from the sidelines instead, for months. But her crush hadn't died down, not in the slightest.

And Danny… He hadn't shied away from her, either. He had been sad, of course. Had been heartbroken. But he still hung out with her. Still remained friends with her, despite everything.

And that didn't make it any easier on her. Because she _wanted_ this, so badly. But she wouldn't let herself date him, date _anyone_ , if she couldn't protect them.

So, when her crush stubbornly refused to die down… She instead settled down for some research. Combed through any and all literature about ghosts and ectoplasmic entities she could find. Spend hours- days- _weeks_ \- looking for ways to keep Danny safe, without having to rely on her ghost hunting equipment. Because she couldn't always protect him, not directly.

And, finally, she had found something. An obscure flower, little known and nigh extinct. A relative of the rose which apparently deterred supernatural creatures, especially ghosts.

It hadn't been easy to acquire some. She had managed to track down a ghost enthusiast who was willing to sell her a few seeds, but she hadn't had the money to pay for them. Instead she managed to talk the enthusiast into a trade, swapping information on ghosts for information on the flowers.

With a bond of trust thus established, she asked them if there was anything she could trade for the flowers themselves. The enthusiast had remained quiet for a long while, and Valerie had grown worried about losing her only shot.

Until the enthusiast had messaged her back, saying that they would trade as many seeds as she needed for a ghost. A _real-life_ ghost.

And really, she shouldn't have done it. Who knows what kind of damage the ghost could've done in the hands of an enthusiast who likely didn't even own any kind of weaponry.

But, she couldn't let this chance pass her by.

So she had captured the weakest ghost she had ever come across. A sickly-looking ectopus which could barely stay afloat, and which didn't even put up a fight. And then she duct-taped the thermos shut, and had mailed it off to the enthusiast.

She hadn't considered how difficult it would be to actually _grow_ the flowers, unfortunately. Even with all the information the enthusiast had provided, it had been quite tricky. The roses were finicky, and it took her several months before she got the hang of growing them.

But, she had succeeded. And now here she stood, with a bouquet of a few of the fully-grown flowers in full blossom.

And she had to admit that the flowers were kinda pretty. The blossoming petals were incredibly similar to the roses they were related to, a deep red reminiscent of blood. The stems and leaves were a little more unique, a deep black which revealed itself to a be a deep purple in the right light.

Taking a deep breath, Valerie straightened out her spine and pushed her shoulders back. Then she summoned every last scrap of confidence and bravery she felt, and stepped towards Danny. She made sure to keep the bouquet behind her back, lest she ruin the surprise.

The boy heard her approaching and whirled around, a large smile on his face.

"Hey Val, what's up?"

She smiled back, resisting the urge to ball her fists to relieve her anxiety. "Hey Danny. I, uh… I have something for you."

"You do?" he asked, curiosity peaked. His eyes were big and sparkly and- _Valerie stop letting yourself get distracted darnit._

"Uh, yeah," she stammered, before remembering that she still had the bouquet hidden behind her back. She blushed, then shoved it roughly into Danny's chest. "Here," she bit out as she did so.

Danny had automatically grabbed the flowers, but dropped them as suddenly as he had received them. He flinched, backing away from the bushel of roses lying on the floor. He frowned at them, and then at her. She wasn't sure what to think of his expression, the cocktail of emotions playing on his face too complicated for her to decipher.

Of all the ways she thought this could've gone wrong, this wasn't one she had considered. She didn't know what to think, how to react.

"Those are..." Danny started, but he trailed off before lapsing into silence.

"Blood Blossoms," Valerie finished for him instead. Danny nodded, still frowning. "They were… supposed to be a gift. To make up for the breakup." And to start their relationship anew, but she didn't dare to say that. Not with how he had reacted.

"Oh." Danny started to look increasingly distraught. "I- Thanks. I appreciate the gesture." But he didn't move to pick them up. Just stared at them. "Where'd you get them, anyway?"

"Uh. That's… complicated?" She wasn't sure how to explain, and she wasn't sure why he cared, either. Did he… have something against Blood Blossoms? Was it because of his family? "Do you not… like them?" She tried not to sound hurt, but she was sure he could tell regardless. His face was an open book.

"I- No, sorry. It's, um." He made a face, then started to rub the back of his neck. A gesture of nerves, one she easily recognized. "I'm kind of… allergic. Sorry."

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't… didn't know." She hadn't thought that it was even possible for humans to be allergic to Blood Blossoms. She thought they only hurt ghosts!

"You couldn't have known," Danny reassured her, smiling awkwardly. "It's fine. I appreciate the gesture."

She reached for the fallen bouquet, kicking it further away from her and Danny. "Still, I should've asked. Could've saved both of us a lot of trouble, huh?"

"Yeah," Danny laughed. "I hope you didn't go through too much trouble to get those."

Valerie thought of the months of research and gardening she had spent on those flowers. Then she grinned, and said, "Nah."


	4. Reflection

"Reflection" for an anonymous asker on Tumblr. Kinda short but I felt like adding more would detract rather than add. As they say in this country, "kort maar krachtig".

Obligatory content warning for Portal Accident-related angst. Nothing graphic, for once.

* * *

Danny stared into the mirror. His reflection stared back, acid green eyes wide with disbelief. The boy in the mirror looked _nothing_ like him, and simultaneously looked _exactly_ like Danny. It was just… The colors were off, somehow.

But when he reached out towards the mirror, he caught a glimpse of his glove. The glove which was black when he entered the portal.

The glove that was _white_ , now. Just like the sleeve of the jumpsuit underneath it was now black, instead of white.

Just like the hair of his mirror image had been inverted from black to white.

"No," he whispered, his voice raspy. He could see, in the reflective surface of the mirror, the pained expressions that Sam and Tucker still wore.

"No," he repeated, shoving his head into his hands. "No, it can't be. I can't- I can't be _dead_."

An unfamiliar tingling feeling started in his chest, soon washing over his entire body. Danny ignored the alien sensation, still stuck on the dreadful events that had just happened. On the downturn his life had taken.

" _Dude_ ," Tucker exclaimed, as Sam simultaneously gasped.

"What?" Danny snapped, whirling around to face them with a frown. He could still see his reflection from the corner of his eye, the glow around his counterpart brightening in anger. He watched as his counterpart balled his white-gloved fists, in perfect sync with his own.

Except that his own gloves were black again.

"What?" he repeated, as he inspected his hands, and then the rest of his body. His entire jumpsuit had returned to its original colors. It didn't even glow anymore.

But his reflection had remained unchanged. Still wore the black jumpsuit and the white gloves.

"How?" he muttered under his breath, eyes locked with the ones of his reflection.

"Dude, you just changed! There was this flash, and then suddenly you were normal again!" Tucker explained, his voice shaky. Danny felt sorry for how upset Tucker was, but… Well, it's not like he _chose_ to get into this mess, right?

Danny's frown deepened as he took his eyes off of the mirror to look at his friends again. "So my hair and my eyes…" he trailed off, kept his tone questioning.

"Wasn't that what you were looking at in the mirror?" Sam asked, frowning as well.

"You don't see it?" Danny looked at his reflection again. The ghost continued to move in perfect sync with him, like it _should_ , as a mirror image.

"See what?" Tucker leaned against Danny, looking at the mirror as well. "You look like you always did, dude."

"What _do_ you see, Danny?" Sam joined him on his other side, also looking at the mirror.

He hesitated for a moment, before reaching out towards the reflective surface. He touched the hard surface, allowing his black glove to meet the white glove of his ghostly counterpart.

"Myself," he said, after a long silence.


	5. Rain

Prompt was "Rain" by phantasmapurple9. I continue to be very bad at ending my fanfics.

* * *

The rain had started during the last leg of school. Danny had spent his entire last period glancing out of the window, hoping that the fat droplets would seize to be before he had to travel home.

When the bell finally rung, the downpour had only increased in strength.

He made it all the way to the front doors of the school before he changed his mind. It was coming down _hard_ , and he really didn't want to walk through it if he could avoid it.

So Danny sought out an empty bathroom, shifted into Phantom, and flew home. He made sure to stay intangible to avoid the rain, all the way to his house.

He landed in an alley right next to the house, making sure that no one was around to see him. Then he morphed back into human form, becoming tangible again as well.

The last few steps back to his house were rushed, and Danny slammed the door shut the moment he stepped through. He grinned to himself, pleased to have mostly avoided the rain. Besides, it's not like anyone would've noticed, anyway. Jazz already knew about his ghost powers, and his parents were always down in the lab.

A crash came from the kitchen, and Danny pushed off of the door to check it out. He barely made it two steps into the living room when his dad emerged, however.

The man was dressed in an eye-searingly orange jumpsuit as usual. Less usual were the soot stains all over his clothing and face. Still _pretty_ usual for Jack Fenton, though.

Before Danny could make his escape, Jack spotted him. He grinned, waving at his son. "Hey Danny-boy! Made it home safe, I see."

"Uh, yeah," Danny stammered out in answer, inching towards the stairs. He was pretty sure he could scoot by his dad without the man noticing-

And then his escape was cut off by his mom, who also walked out of the kitchen. She was similarly stained with soot, although less so than his dad.

Before Danny could escape from _her_ path too, his mom had stuck out a hand and ruffled his hair. Maybe she wouldn't notice?

 _Nope_ , she definitely noticed. She pulled back her hand and frowned. Danny wasn't sure if it was at him.

"I, uh, better get dried off," he tried with a wan smile. He vaguely pointed to the stairs, hoping to make his escape. He was already trying to think of an excuse, but none stood out to him. The only thing he could think of was that he caught a ride, but none of his friends had licenses (or cars). And while he could've, theoretically, caught a ride with Jazz, she would've come home _with_ him.

"Hold on." His mom grabbed him by the upper arm, frown deepening as she noticed that his hoodie was mostly dry as well. She released him almost immediately, but the damage had already been done.

His dad had apparently noticed as well, since the man lumbered closer as well. "Danny, you're barely wet."

 _Uh oh. Should've thought ahead a little better, Fenton._ And he still didn't have an excuse, either. "Wow, really? It… felt a lot worse?" Bad. Bad attempt. They're never gonna fall for that.

And they very clearly didn't, frowning at him with suspicion. Whoops.

" _Danny_ ," his mom said, tone chastising. She sounded a lot like Jazz whenever he came home with serious injuries, insisting he didn't need help. The family resemblance was kind of scary, really. "Explain."

"I, uh. Can't." He shrugged, a sheepish expression his face. And he couldn't, really. He had no excuses, and it wasn't like he could tell them the truth. _Yeah, so I kind of flew home intangible so I wouldn't get wet._ Like his parents would fall for that.

"Why not?" his dad asked, one of his huge hands landing on Danny's shoulders. He was sure that it was meant to be comforting, but to him it just felt like he was getting pinned down. His expression was difficult to make out, uncertain and hurt and who knew what else.

"I just can't," he bit out, attempting to wriggle out of his dad's grasp. In turn, the fingers dug in just a little deeper. He was vaguely aware of the fact that he was overreacting, panicking-

His mom stepped forward and Danny flinched back, flickering intangible to get out of the pinning grip.

Everyone froze.

For a few moments, nothing happened. Everyone stood still in shock over what just happened. Danny was breathing heavily, trying to stamp down his panic. It was too late. The damage was done. Now he needed to focus to guide it to safer grounds.

"Well," his dad said, voice wavering and uncertain, the usual bluster lacking. "I guess that that explains how you got home so dry."

Danny flinched back another step. He couldn't quite read the expressions on his parents' faces, but he wasn't sure that he _wanted_ to.

"But how?" his mom queried, frowning. Her voice was quiet, but in the silence of their living room, it was perfectly audible. "A human can't use ghost powers, but a ghost… a ghost can't grow." Or eat, or breathe, or any of the things Danny did regularly. Or so his parents thought. They didn't need to know that many ghosts _could_ do those things, but just _chose_ not to.

Danny looked away, wrapping his arms around himself. He had considered telling his parents many times, but he always… he always planned on having backup. Sam, Tucker… Jazz, at least. But now… Now he was alone.

"Unless he's both, somehow." Jack was frowning too, now. But his expression was more one of thought, rather than the anger Danny had been expecting. "Are you, Danny-boy?"

The nickname caught his attention, and he looked back at his parents. "Huh?" he asked, a little stupidly.

"You're not ghost _or_ human, are you?" His dad's gaze was expectant, but… surprisingly supportive.

"Uh, no." Danny grimaced, but let his arms hang by his sides again. "I'm… 50/50. A halfa, the ghosts call me."

"Incredible," his mom whispered, eyes growing wide. She stepped forward but stopped when she saw Danny flinch away again. "It defies all science…" And then the implications struck her, and she gasped. "But _how…_?"

He shrugged, loosely. "The, uh. The accident with the Portal, in freshman year." Then his eyes grew wide, and he raised his hands up in a calming gesture. "But it's not your fault! _I_ went to check it out, _I_ was an idiot. _I_ got myself hurt."

"And that's why you're supposed to wear a hazmat suit in the lab, sweetie." His mom was now slowly approaching him, hoping not to startle him into flinching away again. Her tone was chastising, but soft. Kind.

"But I _did_ ," Danny mumbled quietly. Not quiet enough, apparently, based on the quirked eyebrow his mom gave him.

"What did you say, honey?" she asked.

"Nothing."

He would tell them about Phantom later. This afternoon had been trying enough already.


	6. Blind

Prompt was "Blind" by goldenpheonix5. Is it just me or are these prompt fills getting longer every time I write one?

 **Content warning** for serious injuries. I've also upped the rating of the collection to teen. It was kind of inevitable, really.

* * *

Hard bark pressed against Danny's back. Soft grass underneath his hands. The park was quiet, bar the soft rustling of the breeze stirring the plant life.

The sensations were grounding. Stopped Danny from feeling like he'd lost all connection to the world.

Because he saw nothing but black. Despite the relatively early time of day… he saw nothing.

He kept his eyes closed, knowing that he would only cause himself more pain if he tried to open them. It would do him no good anyway. It was better to wait until they had healed. If they _would_ heal.

But he couldn't think like that. Of course they would heal! All his injuries healed, sooner or later. This- this would be no exception. It _couldn't_ be. He- he _needed_ his eyes. He couldn't- he couldn't be _blind_.

The warm blood still spilling down his face made an unpleasant reminder of the fact that he wasn't healing yet. His ghost form, theoretically, would offer him better healing… But he needed to get home. He needed… He needed help.

Danny stuck his hand inside his pocket, blindly searching for his phone. Once he found it, he flipped it open. His fingers traced over the buttons, blindly selecting one. He crossed his fingers and hoped he'd chosen well. Then he held down the button until the other end answered.

"FentonWorks, this is Maddie speaking," a clear voice rung out from the other end. Luck was once again not on his side – he had hoped for one of his friends or Jazz – but he would take whatever he got.

"Mom," he said, or tried to say. His voice cracked and his breath caught. Danny was vaguely aware of the hot salty tears that streamed down his face – when had he started crying?

"Danny?" She sounded far more alert now, apparently picking up on his distress. "What's wrong honey?"

"I- I-" he stammered, before stopping to collect himself. He tried to wipe away his tears with his free hand, but only pushed them into his open wounds. He hissed at the unexpected pain.

"Danny?" his mom repeated, worry clear in her voice. "Danny sweetie, please tell me what's wrong."

"I'm- There was a ghost attack," he finally managed, voice shaky and cracking. His face hurt, he was scared. He wanted it to _stop_. Despite everything he had been through since he had become half ghost… he wasn't prepared for this. "In- In the park."

He heard his mom shift. "Are you hurt?"

 _Yes_ , he thought.

"I think so," he said. "I think- I think I'm bleeding."

He licked his lips and tasted iron and copper. The distinct taste of his ectoplasm-infused blood.

He wished he wasn't familiar enough with it to recognize it by taste.

"Okay." A sound like his mom laid her hand over the phone receiver, then muffled yelling. "Jack! Danny was attacked by a ghost in the park. He's hurt!"

He couldn't make out what his dad yelled back. More rustling as his mom uncovered the phone again. "Okay," she said again. "We're on our way now, okay sweetie? Just stay calm."

"I'll… I'll try." He tried to sound confident, certain… But he was sure that he failed.

"We'll be right there," his mom assured him.

Then a beep sounded as she hung up the phone. He put his phone back in his pocket. It had done its job. His parents didn't carry cellphones, so it wouldn't do him any more good.

Danny pushed himself flatter against the tree. He wished he knew where, exactly, his Thermos was. He would've felt safer holding it.

That, and he didn't want to risk anyone accidentally letting out the ghosts inside. Not after- Not after what he had gone through to catch them.

Spectra was awful as always, of course. But he had managed to get her first, for once.

No, it was Bertrand that had caused this.

Danny had gotten the ghostly shapeshifter trapped in the beam of the Thermos, but the ghost got in a lucky strike in the last minute. Threw a sharp weapon of some sort without Danny noticing.

He had already capped the Thermos when the weapon hit, and he had reflexively flung his arms in front of his face. The Thermos had slipped from his hand in the same motion, landing somewhere nearby.

Close. But not close enough to find without sight.

After that Danny had scrambled backwards until he hit a tree. Then he had sat in silence for a few moments, trying to listen for anyone nearby.

When he heard no one, and knowing that no one had been there during the fight, he had shifted back to human.

Which was how he had ended up here in the first place. Human, with blood pouring down his face. Waiting for his parents to arrive. Hoping that somehow, _somehow_ , they could fix this.

An unmeasurable amount of time later noises started coming from the distance. The cacophonous noise of his parents busting their way through the bushes of the park – and their yelling.

"I'm here!" he tried to yell back, but his voice faltered and came out far too quiet.

"I'm over here!" he tried again, but once more his voice failed.

He shoved his face in his hands and growled in frustration. Then he simply listened, waiting for his parents to get a little closer.

Finally he tried a third time. "Mom, dad?" he yelled, and while his voice cracked, it came out loud enough.

The rustling of his parents quietened, and then his mom spoke up again. "Danny?"

"Over here!" Finally he managed it at the volume he was trying for. He would just ignore the pained undertones – he thought that they could be excused considering the circumstances.

With an enormous amount of noise his parents broke through into the open area where Danny was waiting. Their steps audibly faltered when they saw him. Or, well, he assumed that that was when they saw him.

"Danny?" his mom asked, voice quiet and sad.

He turned to face their direction, repressing the urge to open his eyes. He highly doubted he could see anything anyway. Instead he offered them a shaky smile. "Hey mom."

"Oh, Danny," she whispered. Then suddenly she was next to him, gently touching his face.

He flinched back automatically from the unexpected contact, opening his eyes to _see_ -

Nothing.

Still nothing but black.

His mom pulled him against her, her arms wrapping around him. He dropped his head onto her shoulder, feeling the shaking of her body. Was she crying?

His mom never cried. Why was she crying? Surely it wasn't that bad?

 _Lie_ , he thought. But he ignored the quiet inner voice. He didn't want to believe it. Wanted to live in his fantasy a little longer, where he couldn't be hurt. Not for long. Not permanently.

"Mads," his dad said, also from closer than Danny had expected. He didn't think the man could sneak up on him, but somehow he did. Maybe Danny was more out of it than he thought. "We need to get him to the hospital."

"Right," she sniffled. One of the arms around Danny left, probably so she could wipe away her tears.

"Wait." Danny shoved away the remaining arm, automatically glancing around the space he was sitting in. Not that he could actually _see_ anything, but maybe…

Well, he wasn't sure what he was hoping for. "I- My Thermos. It should be around here somewhere."

"Your Thermos?" his dad repeated, his jumpsuit crinkling a little as he moved. Looking around, probably. "We can fetch it later, Danny-boy. We need to get you treated first."

"No, but-" He pushed himself further upright. Tried to cast his ghost-sense out in the hopes of picking up the faint ectoplasmic energy Spectra and Bertrand emitted even while captured. "-I got the ghost. He's in the Thermos."

" _You_ caught the ghost?" his mom questioned, sounding rather skeptical. He would feel offended, but he supposed that it was a fair point. Danny _Fenton_ never showed any interest in ghosts, let alone any competence in catching them.

"I think I see it," his dad said before Danny had a chance to defend himself. He supposed it was for the best. He didn't think that he could make a very good defense with how badly his face was hurting. Sharp pain stabbed through him every time he blinked. He should probably… close his eyes again. It didn't matter if they were open, anyway.

Arms hooked underneath his knees and arms, and suddenly he was lifted off the ground. He, in turn, wrapped his own arms around his mom's neck.

"Sorry sweetie." She sounded faintly apologetic, but not much. "We need to get you to the hospital as soon as possible."

She remained quiet a little longer as she carried him off, presumably in the direction of the RV. "I think… I think that ectoplasm got into the injury."

He hummed, a neutral answer. He _knew_ ectoplasm was in the wound- it was his own. But he couldn't tell her that.

"Danny, I…" She sighed, sounding incredibly tired all of a sudden. "I don't think that you'll ever see again."

It wasn't what he wanted to hear, but… He was pretty sure she was right.

And he didn't know how he felt about that.

He supposed it was for the best. He would have to retire Phantom – if he couldn't see he couldn't fly _or_ fight. And that way no one could recognize the scar that he would surely get. It would've been _asking_ for someone to connect the dots.

But that didn't make him feel any better.


	7. Fog

Prompt was "fog" for shadowofaghost5 on Tumblr. Also here's a reminder that I'm open for prompts on my Tumblr (inky-interest) pretty much always. Even if I'm not open right that moment, I save them up for a later moment.  
Also I'm sick and miserable so of course I wrote Danny also being sick.

* * *

The shrill beeping of an alarm clock startled Danny awake. He swung out his arm in its general direction, hoping to hit the snooze button.

A sound like plastic crunching sounded instead, and the beeping went up another pitch before it cut out.

Confused by the strange noise, Danny opened his eyes with a groan. He lifted up his hand, bits of plastic still clinging to it. On his nightstand laid the remains of his alarm clock – shattered into pieces.

He sat up, hoping to inspect it closer.

Instead he suddenly grew dizzy, toppling out of his bed-

but never hitting the floor. Instead he floated several inches above it.

"What?" he croaked out. Then suddenly his flight quit again and he thumped onto the floor.

Footsteps approached his door, and Jazz's voice rung out. "Danny, are you alright?"

"Uh," he answered, intending to answer properly. Instead he sneezed, closing his eyes in the motion.

When he opened them again half his room was covered in ice.

"Danny?" Jazz asked again, thumping her fist on his door.

"I uh. You should come in." He sniffled, halfheartedly wiping his nose on the sleeve of his pajamas. He froze up when he spotted the faintly glowing mucus on it.

The door opened and closed. Jazz sighed. "Danny, did you forget to release the cold from your core again?"

"No!" he protested. He tried to push himself upright again, but the wooziness took over again and he fell onto his side instead. His arm flailed out, trying to catch himself on the wall.

It phased through instead.

"Are you _sick_?" Jazz asked somewhat incredulously. "I thought your enhanced healing stopped most illnesses?"

"Maybe it's a ghost sickness?" Danny offered, pulling his arm out of the wall again. It stubbornly refused to go tangible again. He was strongly reminded of the first few months after the Accident, when he struggled to control his powers.

And he had _so_ hoped to be over that.

Jazz crouched next to him and laid a hand on his forehead. She frowned. "You feel warmer than normal. I think you might have a fever."

"Of _course_ ," Danny groaned, rolling onto his back again. His head felt foggy and thick.

"You should probably stay home today." Jazz grabbed his arm, clearly intending to pull him up onto his feet. "If you go down for breakfast mom and dad will probably agree."

"Probably," Danny agreed, letting himself be pulled onto his feet. He closed his eyes to rub in them once more, blindly following Jazz's guidance.

They stopped at the top of the stairs, and he opened his eyes again. As much as he trusted Jazz, he didn't quite feel safe going down the stairs blind. Especially not with how terrible he was feeling.

"Danny, your eyes," Jazz hissed, and he glanced up at her. He could see the glowing green of his eyes reflected in her pupils.

"Oh," he simply said. He blinked, slowly, but the color remained. "That's… a problem."

"Can you still use your powers on command?"

"Maybe." He frowned at her. "Why though?"

"Your eyes turn blue when you're using your ice powers," she explained.

Before he could react, however, footsteps sounded from the bottom of the stairs.

"Danny honey, why are you still in your pajamas?"

His eyes automatically snapped towards her, and she visibly flinched a step back. He guessed that they hadn't stopped glowing, then.

Jazz's hand landed on his shoulder, and he looked at her. She looked concerned but determined. She nodded, once, at him. Then she called down the stairs at their mom.

"Danny is sick. He should stay home from school today."

"Jazz," his mother answered, voice cautious. "Step away from him. He's overshadowed."

Danny would've made some attempt to defend himself, but a wave of nausea hit him and he gripped the railing of the stairs to stop himself from falling. The metal groaned under his fingers, before a hissing noise sounded.

"Danny!" Jazz hissed, and he opened his eyes again ( _when had he closed them?_ ) to see ectoplasmic energy forming around his hands.

He yelped and released the railing again, staggering backwards. His back landed on the far wall, his head hitting the wall a little too hard. He groaned – the pain combined rather badly with his foggy mind.

"Jazz, get away from him!" His mom sounded far closer, and Danny opened his eyes to see her halfway up the stairs – and getting closer.

"Mom, no!" Jazz yelled, stepping in front of him.

Vaguely he thought that he should probably be worried about all of this. He was sure that _normally_ he would be all over this-

But his brain refused to cooperate. It felt like he was wading through a thick soup instead of actual thoughts.

"Jazz," their mother warned again, now stepping onto the upper floor. The ecto-gun in her hand was gripped tightly, but not raised yet. Maybe she didn't want to risk hitting Jazz? Also, where did that gun even _come_ from?

"No mom," Jazz snapped back, arms spread wide. "You don't get it! You're just scaring him!"

"That's a ghost, not your brother!" Maddie took another step closer, and Danny vaguely thought that he should probably leave.

Instead he just sunk to the ground, back pressed against the wall.

Jazz glanced at him, eyes blown wide and brimming with… some sort of emotion. He was pretty sure he was _supposed_ to know what it was, but his brain wasn't cooperating.

Then she looked at their mother again, pushing back her shoulders and straightening out her posture. "No mom, you don't get it. The ghost _is_ Danny."

Maddie faltered, her expression muddled- too muddled for Danny to read. "What… What do you mean?"

Danny opened his mouth to contribute, even if he wasn't sure what to say- but instead he sneezed. Again.

"Gesundheit," Jazz said, grimacing. Their mom had jumped to the side at the last minute, and had thus escaped the onslaught of ice that now covered the entire top of the stairs.

Danny wiped his nose on his sleeve again, before looking for his mom. "Thanks," he muttered, finally spotting his mom. She looked like she was fine. But better safe than sorry, right? "Mom, are you okay?"

She looked at him, her gaze sharp and inspecting. "What if I wasn't?"

He flinched, hitting his head against the wall again. Hissing through his teeth, he rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry. I didn't feel it coming."

Jazz crouched next to him again, reaching out to test his temperature again. Her hand passed through his head though.

"Danny," she chastised. "I can't check your temp like this."

"Sorry," he said again. He knew he had to focus to become tangible again, but his foggy mind refused. "I can't control it."

Maddie approached them again, an uncertain expression of her face. The gun was still in her hand, but she kept it turned away from the two of them for the moment.

"Has this happened before?" Her voice was worried, but he wasn't sure if it was because she believed them, or if she was just worried about the ghost somehow damaging his body.

"Sometimes when he gets new powers he can't control them," Jazz confessed, swiping at Danny once more- and once more passing through him. "But I think it's this sickness that's making him lose control."

"And when I first got em," Danny contributed, mumbling the words. "I kept going intangible and invisible."

"Right, I wasn't really around for that." Jazz finally managed to grab onto Danny. She grimaced again. "You definitely have a fever."

"But _how_?" Maddie asked, looking like she was considering testing his temperature too. "How is Danny a ghost?"

"'m only half," he grumbled before suddenly shivering. A cloud of blue vapor emerged from his mouth. Recognizing it as his ghost sense he groaned.

"What are the chances that that was a false alarm?" Jazz asked, quirking an eyebrow at him. "Actually, never mind. Knowing your luck it wasn't." She stood up and pulled Maddie up as well.

"What was-" Maddie started, but Jazz shushed her.

" _That_ was his ghost sense. There is a ghost somewhere nearby. You go catch it, and I'll get Danny back in bed so he can get better. After that I'll explain everything, okay?"

Their mom eyed them for a moment longer before nodding. "Alright." She ruffled Danny's hair, looking strangely contemplative. "But I want the _whole_ story."

"Of course," the siblings chorused.


	8. Flu

I may or may not have been because I've been sitting on this prompt since fricking March or something, whoops.

Prompt was "Danny gets the ghost flu but shows up at school anyways" by an anonymous asker on Tumblr. Continued from Fog (the previous drabble).

* * *

"You look terrible, dude," was the first thing Tucker said to Danny when he got to school. It was followed up almost immediately by, "What's wrong with you, man, not in public!"

Which, of course, was a response to the ectoblast Danny had inadvertently send in Tucker's direction.

"S'rry," he mumbled, sniffling miserably. "'m not doing it on purpose."

"Wow." Tucker frowned, leaning in closer, a worried expression on his face. "Are you okay? I thought you couldn't get sick?"

"So did I." He dragged his hand over his eyes, but the crusty feeling and sleepiness remained. "Jazz and my mom think it might be some kinda ghost flu."

Tucker stiffened. Then he grabbed Danny by the shoulders, staring straight into his eyes. "Wait, your _mom_? Is this like, the way she and your dad blame everything on ghosts, or…"

"Tuck." Danny swatted the hand off of his shoulder, turning to attempt to unlock his locker. "I literally can't control my powers. What do you think?"

"Man, and you got through that? That's pretty impressive."

"Jazz talked me out of that mess, I guess." Danny jangled the lock, frustrated. It wouldn't open for some reason.

Then it crunched, and he swiftly withdrew his hand to see that he had accidentally crushed it.

"That's kind of a problem, man." Tucker pried the destroyed piece of metal out of Danny's hand, looking it over. "You have no control over _any_ of your powers?"

"They just kind of activate whenever, yeah." At least his locker was open now. Danny took out the books he would need, ignoring the obvious problem for the moment. "The sneezes are the worst. I may or may not have frozen my entire room when I sneezed."

"Oof." Tucker looked at the lock in his hand, shrugged, then placed it in Danny's locker. "So why're you here, then? Wouldn't it be smarter to stay home, if it has already given you away to your mom?"

"She thought I couldn't afford to miss school," he grumbled, attempting to rub the sleep out of his eyes again, to no avail. "Jazz couldn't convince her, either. Thinks she might need some time alone to process, or something."

"I mean, that would make sense," Tucker allowed with another shrug. "But, come on. You look miserable, dude. Lancer'll take one look at you and send you to the nurse, never mind if you sneeze and freeze half the classroom."

"What's this about Danny freezing the school?" Sam asked, leaning against the locker next to Danny's. "That doesn't seem like a good use of your powers."

Danny sniffled again, attempting to stamp down on an upcoming sneeze. Then he realized that sneezing into his locker might actually be one of the safer opportunities at the moment.

"Cover me," he said, instead of answering Sam's question.

And, in a convincing show of their loyalty, they did so immediately. Both leaned in closer, hiding him from the rest of the hallway with their bodies.

He stuffed his head into his locker. Took a moment to appreciate how much roomier it was inside when it was just his head inside. Then the sneeze came upon him, and with a momentous force, he let it go.

Looking back, he supposed it made sense that his Ghostly Wail could _also_ be triggered by sneezing. In the moment, however, he couldn't help but think that the universe must really _really_ hate him.

Thankfully it had only lasted a short time, so the damage wasn't _too_ bad. The walls of his locker had dented outwards, bending the lockers that neighbored it on all sides.

"Danny," Sam's voice was tight, controlled, "What is going on?"

"Sick," he mumbled, pulling his head out of the locker again. Looks like he would need a new one. Maybe he could blame the damage on a ghost fight? Or a misfiring invention from his parents? "Ghost flu, or something."

"Okay." She nodded, folding her hands together. "So then please explain to me _why you're here_?"

"His mom made him go," Tucker explained, taking mercy on Danny. "She found out his secret, apparently, and not even Jazz could stop her from sending Danny to school."

She shook her head, but hummed. "Wow. That's, um. That sucks, Danny."

"Uh huh. Tell me about it." He sniffled again, then winced as the bell rung. "Well, here goes nothing, I suppose."

"Lancer will send you to the nurse the moment he sees you." Sam gestured at him. "You really look terrible."

"That's what I said, too!" Tucker exclaimed as they started making their way to the classroom. "Both of those things, even."

"Not much I can do about it." Danny sniffled once more. He made a face like he was about to sneeze, then stamped it down again. It was too busy in the hallway, he couldn't chance it. "Not my problem."

" _Definitely_ your problem," Sam protested, "If it outs your secret. Come on, Danny, just leave like you always do."

"Can't." A wave of nausea washed over him, and he paused to let it pass. He ducked his head in his elbow, only barely peeking over it to look at Sam and Tucker. "Gotta stay in Mom's good graces."

"Danny, no offense, but your eyes are _literally_ glowing." Tucker sighed, looking away briefly as if making sure no one was paying attention to them. They weren't, thankfully, as the trio were protected by their lackluster reputation. "There is no way you're getting out of this without blowing your identity out of the water."

"Unless," Sam said, snapping her fingers, eyes big, "we say he got overshadowed. We can say that Danny has good mental strength and is fighting off the possession, but sometimes the ghost surfaces enough to mess with its powers."

Danny sighed, shook his head, and straightened up again. "How's me being sick related to that?"

"Your body is trying to fight off an attacking entity in the only way it knows?" Sam shrugged. "It's better than just blowing your secret, isn't it?"

"Ugh." He made a face, hoping to make it clear what he thought of this. "Yeah, I mean, I guess. Whatever. I'm blaming you if it goes wrong."


	9. Snow

Haven't been writing a lot recently because I started school again so I'm a little rusty, but I figured I would take a stab at some prompts over on Tumblr again. Here's the first, by an anonymous asker: _I adore reveal fics, so would could you do with "reveal" and "snow"? Bonus points if it's silly_

Admittedly it's not quite as silly as I had intended, because I find it kinda tough to do a reveal fic from the POV of the people finding out without referring to how messed up that whole thing is but, well, it hits the other two points?

* * *

Maddie laughed as a snowball whizzed past her head. Her fingers, protected by the thick material of her jumpsuit, dug through the snow to make one of her own.

"He's gotten good at this!" her husband exclaimed, cheerily. "It's like he's got a never-ending hoard over there!"

"We'll get him," she told him, voice determined. "Sooner or later he'll run out, and we outnumber him."

Another snowball flew by them as she finished hers. Spotting the perfect opportunity, she stood up from behind her barrier, winding back her arm.

As the projectile left her hand, another hit her in the face, however. She stumbled back, crouching behind her protection again.

"Missed me!" Danny taunted from the other side of the fight.

She grumbled, ducking lower to scrape together more snow. "We need a better plan."

Jack hummed an acknowledgment, eyes darting around the clearing they were in. Then his eyes lit up. "I've got an idea! Cover me!"

"Cover you? Jack, what-"

He darted away before she could finished her sentence. Cursing, she balled her handful of snow. It wasn't a _great_ snowball, but it would do its job.

Maddie waited until she saw Danny pop up, then lobbed the haphazard snowball at him. It must've caught him off-guard, because he startled and dropped his own.

Danny swore, turning around and starting to duck behind his own cover. Looking for Jack, if she had to guess. She couldn't give him the chance.

Quickly she scooped up more snow. She might not know what Jack had thought of, but his plans were always brilliant, if unconventional. If he wanted her to keep Danny distracted, she would.

The two of them kept it up for a little while, exchanging snowballs. Behind Danny, she could see Jack stealthily moving around. Or, well, as stealthy as he could get, since he was wearing bright orange as usual. To keep him out of Danny's sight, and to distract her son even further, she started moving as well. Slowly, but surely, they were cornering him, and he didn't even know.

She saw Jack scrape together a huge heaping of snow, and threw one last snowball to keep Danny distracted _just_ a moment longer. They had gotten very close by now; Jack was almost directly behind their son.

Crouching low, she watched Jack dump the armful of snow onto Danny. She was expecting a jubilant cheer, an exclamation of excitement.

Instead she heard a yelp from Danny – not entirely unexpected – and a matching noise from her husband.

Spurred into action, she covered the last of the distance between her and Danny in a few steps, jumping over the snowy barrier he'd formed.

Behind it, she found her husband staring wide-eyed at their son, expression twisted into something weird. And Danny… Danny was covered in the snow Jack had just dumped onto him, his hair so extensively covered with snowflakes that it looked white, an undersized snowball in his hand.

Danny's eyes darted from Jack to her, and she froze at the sight of them. They looked… odd, somehow. They were still that blue she loved so much, but something about them felt… weird. Too cold, too icy… It made his entire face look just slightly off.

"Uh…" Danny said, eventually. His fingers twitched around the snowball, and she immediately zeroed in on his bare fingers, tinged slightly blue with cold.

"Young man!" she snapped at him, racing over to knock the snow out of his hand. "What do you think you're doing? Why aren't you wearing gloves?!"

"I'm- I didn't like them?" he tried, feebly, as he attempted to wrench his wrist out of her grip again. "It's not that cold!"

She shot him a disbelieving look. "Your fingers are turning blue, Danny. We're going home to warm you up right now. Get in the RV."

"But- But-" He looked over at Jack, as if expecting the man to talk her out of this. Quite frankly, she wasn't sure why he hadn't interfered sooner, but he definitely wouldn't side with Danny on this.

Realizing the same, Danny sighed and slumped, then nodded at her. "Alright, fine."

Confident that she'd convinced him, she let him go. She watched him move to the RV for a moment, then stepped closer to Jack. Seeing that his expression hadn't changed, she wrapped her hand around his limp one, leaning against him.

"What's wrong, honey?"

Jack heaved out a sigh, looking tired and weary. "Mads… I saw-" He shook his head. "I don't know what I saw."

"Something about Danny?"

"No. Well, yes." Jack made a face. "His eyes… didn't you see?"

She thought back. Sure, they had looked a little weird, but that was just the lighting. Right? "Well, they looked a little icy, but-"

"They were glowing," he interrupted her, staring into the direction that Danny had gone. "I saw, Maddie. They were glowing blue, like a ghost."

"Our son isn't a ghost, Jack," she said sternly. "We've gone over this before. Just because they're acting a little strange doesn't mean that they've been _replaced_."

"I never said he was replaced." Finally he turned to look at her, looking haunted. "It's Danny. I'm sure of it, Mads. But I'm also sure of what I saw."

She met his eyes, pressing against him a little closer. "Jack, honey, all sorts of things could've made it look like his eyes were glowing. You know snow makes things look a little strange."

"But that wasn't all I saw," he said, and she felt her world grind to a halt at his heavy tone.

"What else did you see?" she asked him, almost before he'd finished his own sentence.

Jack heaved out another sigh, dragging his eyes back towards Danny. "The snowballs, Mads. Didn't I say, just before this, that it seemed like he had a never-ending supply of them?"

"Yes, but I don't see how it's relevant."

"He was making them, Maddie." After a long pause, he seemed to realize that she didn't see anything strange about this, because he added, "Making them fully-formed, I mean. Created the snow right in his bare hands."

"Oh," she said, thinking back of how none of the snow around Danny had been disturbed, despite how much snow he must've thrown at her. About how he hadn't noticed how cold it was, about how his fingers had gone blue with cold without him ever noticing.

He "didn't like" his gloves. Because they would make it harder to form snow, probably. Maybe they were too warm, even, but then why didn't the coat bother him?

"Oh," she said again, turning her eyes from Jack to the RV in the distance. Danny stood next to it, clearly staring at them, hands in his pockets. Must be getting impatient.

"How long? How long has our son been a ghost? How have we never noticed?"

Jack shrugged, listlessly, also looking at Danny. "Must've been forever. Remember the Ghost Finder, back when he started high school? It picked up on him, I'm sure."

"And the Ghost Gabber…" Her eyes widened as realization struck. "All those times our inventions malfunctioned over the years… God, Jack, he's been- _all this time_?"

"No wonder his grades dropped. He got worse at focusing, at behaving well. But he still tries so hard…" Jack sniffled. "He's fighting his nature, just for…"

"For us," she finished for him. "Even though we've been telling him all this times how much we hate ghosts, how we want to tear them apart and experiment on them. How they're good for nothing, and disgusting, and… And he still fought back his ghostly instincts, just to stay?

"But what could've happened to him?" she asked, trying to sort through her memories. "It must've happened sometime between middle school and high school, but what-"

"The Portal," Jack said, grimly. "We finished the Portal, but it didn't work. Then he had an _accident_ with it, and then it worked."

"Oh God." She shivered, entirely unrelated to the cold. "God, Jack."

"I know." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, rubbing her arm comfortingly. "I know, Mads. I can't believe it, but…"

"It makes so much sense." She leaned against him. "But if it happened with the Portal. God, Sam and Tucker must've seen. And Jazz _has_ to know, too. Remember when she started being so smothering towards him, so caring, all of a sudden? And insisted we were wrong about ghosts?"

He hummed. "And no one told us. Because… because they were scared of how we would react. Because they thought we hate ghosts more than we love our family."

"I know." She wished dearly she didn't. "God, Jack, I know."

"Man…" He huffed, then pulled his arm away from her shoulders to wipe over his face instead. "This snowball fight really went downhill, huh?"

She laughed, the sound fragile and thick with unshed tears. "A real Pyrrhic victory."

"Well, let's go make it into something better." He straightened himself up, eyes still on their son in the distance. "Let's make sure he knows how much we love him."

"Yeah," she said, looking at Danny too. The boy still hadn't wiped the snow from his hair, the strands looking entirely white from this far. He looked… very familiar like this. "Hey, wait."

"Hm?" Jack paused, turning to look at her. "What's wrong?"

"Look at him," she insisted, stepping up next to him. "With the snow in his hair, doesn't that remind you of someone?"

Jack looked, and she could see, clear as day, when he realized too. "I'll be damned."

"All this time," she agreed, looking at Danny as well. "All this time he's been a ghost hunter too."

He laughed, hesitantly but hopeful. "God, and he doesn't even know how proud we are of him."

"Well." She stepped forward, dragging Jack along. "Let's go make sure he knows."


	10. Trail

Prompt by another anonymous asker over on Tumblr: One or both of the Fenton parents (your choice who) follow Phantoms' trail, except it's actually Dani

Also for those of you who enjoyed Snow, I've received a request for it to be continued so! That's gonna come up soon. Assuming I don't come up with a better title, it'll be called Avalanche (but it'll be the next drabble for sure).

* * *

Maddie's fingers drummed on the steering wheel, impatient. She and Jack had been tracking Phantom for weeks, the Fenton Jet not quite able to keep up with the ghost's momentum. The only reason that they hadn't lost the ghost entirely was because of its habit to stop and haunt cities that captured its interest.

It never stayed anywhere for longer than a few days, however. Never as long as it had stayed in Amity Park.

"I still don't understand why it left," she said to Jack, briefly glancing over at the built-in Fenton Finder to check that they were still following the ghost. "I mean, it has haunted Amity for years. Why did it leave so suddenly?"

Her husband shrugged. "It's a ghost, Mads. Nothing they do makes sense."

"But it completely changed its ways!" She shook her head. "I mean, we haven't heard a word about it fighting ghosts since it left Amity. What changed?"

"Maybe it's chasing something, or trying to retrieve something." His jumpsuit creaked as he shifted in his seat, the rhythmic movement of his stitching a steady sight in the corner of her eye. "Maybe it knows it's being chased, and doesn't want to stop for too long?"

"I don't know, Jack… There's so much we don't know about it, about its mannerisms."

"Well, we'll just have to catch it and find out, won't we?" He shifted again, then with a confused tone, added, "Huh, looks like it stopped again. Another larger city, I think."

"See, that's another thing I don't understand. It always seems to pick out major cities, cities that would attract tourists. But Amity didn't have that until _after_ it settled down and started fighting ghosts."

Jack shrugged again. "Maybe it relocated because it wants a bigger audience? Maybe it's looking for a good spot to settle down, and it keeps stopping to try out a place?"

"Maybe," she allowed. It made some sense, at least, but still… It didn't seem quite right. "At least we can keep up like this. If it didn't stop at all, we would've lost it after mere days."

He laughed. "Yeah! And the timing is pretty convenient too. We couldn't have left the kids alone during school, but it was summer vacation anyway."

"That's true. I guess we got lucky." Or did they? It seemed more and more suspicious, now. Was Phantom leading them into a trap? But why would it lead them so far away to do it?

"Well, I'm not gonna say no to a bout of good luck!" Jack chuckled, resuming his stitching. "Maybe we'll get real lucky this time and actually catch it."

"Don't jinx us, honey. We have to refuel the Jet first, or we risk losing it if it flies off."

"Yes, yes, I know." A beat or two of silence. "Still, we're far closer than we usually are. Maybe we can finally catch up fully!"

She shook her head, a fond smile on her face. "Well, why don't you go prepare our things, Jack? I'll ask the airport staff to refuel the plane while we're away."

"Ooh." He bounced up out of his seat, stitch work immediately abandoned. "Great idea, Mads!"

Her husband thus distracted, Maddie could focus on catching up on Phantom. Its flight path had turned somewhat erratic as it approached the city, which was confusing, but allowed them to catch up even more.

Landing was something of a hassle – the Fenton Jet was no conventional airplane, and as thus tended to attract unwanted attention – but they managed alright. The staff, who thankfully knew English thanks to the touristic nature of the city, promised to refuel the plane for them, and so they were finally ready to chase down their ghost.

"We're getting close," Jack said over the Fenton Phones, somewhere a few streets over from her. She checked the Fenton Finder in her hand, an ecto-gun in the other. "We just need to get close enough without it noticing."

"Yes." She checked that her gun was charged and ready. It was. "Get to your end of whatever street it is on, and I'll get to mine. We can corner it."

Jack hummed a note of approval, and the line went silent.

She sped to the end of the street, one eye on the Finder to keep track of Phantom's progression. It was flying through the street, parallel to her and Jack. The only difference was that _it_ was moving through houses, rather than following a road.

At least it wasn't flying full speed. Instead it meandered around, like it was looking for something.

Finally it stopped, and she and Jack came to a halt on either end of the street. She saw Jack in the distance, his bright orange jumpsuit standing out even from so far. Phantom didn't seem to have noticed him, thankfully, against all odds.

"On my signal," she whispered to Jack, the Fenton Phones carrying the sound to him. "We'll ambush it. You cover downwards, and I'll cover up."

"Got it."

She held up a hand, watching Phantom. It had paused somewhere in the center of the street, and was now slowly drifting towards the houses to the side. They would have to go quickly, before it lost interest in whatever made it stop.

"Now!" she yelled as she balled her fist.

Jack started moving immediately, and so did she. They stormed towards Phantom, who looked up at the noise, its white hair windswept and its green eyes wide.

It tried darting upwards, but a shot from her gun made it falter. When it tried going down instead, Jack intercepted it. And then, before it could try anything else, they were right next to it, guns aimed at its face.

Phantom hovered right above the street, curled into itself slightly. Its white hair hung over its face, but its ectoplasm-green eyes were visible beyond the strands. The eyes were wide and staring right at her, an expression close to fear – like ghosts could feel fear, ha!

Only… this wasn't Phantom. It sure _looked_ like him, the white hair and the green eyes and the black jumpsuit, so much like their own it was a little eerie. Because this ghost…

This ghost was a girl. Or, well, the ghost of a girl. Its hair was longer, bound into a ponytail, and its jumpsuit had a slightly different design than Phantom's, too. One of its arms was discolored, even, the sleeve white and the glove black. Its held a slightly more feminine shape than Phantom's, too, although not much; the ghost was mimicking a young girl, after all.

"What's…" Jack muttered, a frown on his face. "What're you supposed to be?"

The ghost spluttered, its eyes darting between the two of them. Now that Maddie was looking closer, she could pick out more and more differences between this ghost and Phantom, although they were admittedly still very similar. Their facial structure was almost identical, and even the bags under their eyes matched.

"Me?" the ghost tried, still looking between the two of them. It seemed a little slow, like it was tired. Had it gotten exhausted by the constant high-speed flying? Was that why it kept stopping? "Have you ever looked at yourselves?"

"Hey!" Jack snapped back, immediately offended. "At least _we_ aren't ectoplasmic invaders, you ghostly scum!"

It rolled its eyes, but flinched back when Jack shifted his gun. Maddie immediately stiffened as well. They couldn't risk it fleeing. They had _just_ pinned it down.

"Well, that's nice and all," the ghost said, its words carefully measured, "But I don't think that I enjoy the implications here. So…"

Suddenly it sped away, staying close to the floor rather than dodge up or down. Maddie cursed, chasing it on foot, only sparing a brief thought to wonder why it was going so slow – and why it didn't just turn invisible or intangible.

"There!" Jack exclaimed as the ghost turned a corner, followed moments later by a bright flash.

"What was-" She came to a halt in front of the alley. No ghost. But was that…?

"Oh." Jack stepped up next to her, brow creased. He'd dropped the Fenton Finder at some point, now holding his gun with both hands. "Mads, d'you think…?"

"It could've."

In a corner of the alley – a dead end – was a girl. A cowering girl, curled in on herself, pale hands digging into dark black hair. Like she was trying to protect her face, her body. She looked like she was scared out of her mind. Possibly from seeing a ghost. From seeing _the_ ghost.

But it could be the Phantom-like ghost they were chasing. Whatever reason it had to shy away from using its powers, it still could've overshadowed this girl in an attempt to escape them. There was only one way to prove it. A way that would be _so much_ easier back home, where people knew them and spoke the same language.

Oh, if only they hadn't chased this damn ghost all the way to a different continent!

Still, they had to try. She might not be able to guarantee that this girl spoke English, but softly speaking to her should help, regardless. Maybe they could mime out a question, an answer?

"Hey," she said, keeping her voice gentle as she crept closer. To Jack, she gestured that he should stay. If the girl _was_ overshadowed, one of them needed to be armed, still. And if she wasn't? Well, Jack _was_ quite an intimidating figure. She didn't want to scare the girl worse.

"Hey," she repeated, within arm's reach of the possibly overshadowed girl. "Are you alright?"

The girl looked up, eyes watery but clear, and blue as the skies. Not overshadowed.

But, oh. Her eyes were the exact same shade as Danny's, and now that Maddie was closer, so was her hair. And, goodness, that face was almost identical to Danny's, too.

"Oh," she said, inadvertently. The girl started, apparently not having expected her either, and-

 _and flickered out of sight._

It only lasted a brief moment, so short that Maddie was sure she would've missed it if she'd blinked. But she _hadn't_.

This girl, with her bright blue eyes and deep black hair and face so similar to Danny's that they could've been twins had just _turned invisible_.

"Oh," sounded from behind her. Shuffling footsteps as Jack inched closer too, uncertainly.

The girl – ghost? – continued to stare at her, eyes wide and watery. God, she looked so scared, so genuinely humanly scared, but-

Jack's gun hummed as he pressed down on the trigger, and the girl flinched away. Again, invisibility tugged at the ends of her limbs, but it slipped away before she could fully disappear from sight.

And it couldn't hide how her eyes turned a vivid, glowing, acid green. A shade of green so unbelievably familiar to her.

A shade of green she'd stared into just moments before.

"Ah," Jack murmured, and his gun quietened again. The girl settled down a little again, but her eyes still darted between the two of them.

Just like the Phantom-like ghost had done on the street, before it fled.

"What's-" Jack cleared his throat. "What's the Finder say, Mads?"

Oh, right. She raised it a little so they could both see it.

And there it was. The undeniable proof. It registered a ghost, right where the girl was. The core was weak and the signal weaker, like it was being-

"Muted," she whispered, her eyes going wide. "Like the core's being muted."

"Just like…" Jack licked his lips, eyes going from her to the girl – the ghost. "Just like with Danny."

And the girl, so much like Danny that it hurt Maddie, back pressed against the wall, raised her hands. Then she said, with a slightly wavering voice and in clear English,

"I can explain?"


	11. Avalanche

A continuation to Snow, as prompted by mostlikelynothuman! And also asked for by various other people, haha. I'm kinda glad, actually, because I had initially planned for Snow to be a full reveal, but I didn't end up going there because I didn't want it to end up too long!

* * *

"Danny," Maddie said, gently, as they approached him. He'd been watching them the whole time. Since Jack had caught him in the act of forming a snowball with his ghost powers, really.

It was painful, seeing his own son look at him with such clear suspicion. With so little trust.

God, they'd really messed this up, hadn't they?

"Yeah?" Danny eventually replied, warily. "I thought we were in a hurry? What was taking so long?"

"We were just…" Maddie looked over at him, but he had nothing to offer and shrugged. "Just… talking."

"About what?" he asked, now even more openly suspicious.

Jack stepped closer to Danny, but stopped when the boy flinched back. Rather than wrap an arm around his shoulders like he really wanted, Jack held out his hands. Showed him that he was unarmed, that he didn't mean harm.

"About how proud we are of you, Danny-boy." He made sure to pour all his love, his care, his adoration, into his words. He wasn't sure if ghosts could feel positive emotions like they could feel negative, but _god_ , he wanted his boy to know how much he meant those words. "You've done so well, and we're so, _so_ proud of you."

"Oh," Danny said, weakly, pressed against the RV. "I- _oh_."

This time, he didn't flinch away when Jack reached for him. He curled his arm around the boy's narrow shoulders, pulling him against his warm side. His hair was still white with snow, and he idly brushed some of it out, leaving it a mix of black and white.

"No matter what, we love you, Danny." He could feel the boy shaking against his side, and he wondered how genuine the emotion was. How diluted were Danny's emotions? How much of his boy was left? "You're our son. You'll always be our son."

"You've done so well," Maddie added, stepping closer so she could join the hug. "You must've been so scared, and it must've been so hard, but still you've done so well. We're so proud of you, Danny."

"Mom," the boy stuttered, shaking between them, "D-Dad."

"Shh," Maddie shushed, one hand nestled in his white-black hair. "Shh, it's okay now. We're here. You'll be okay. It'll all be better now."

They pressed closer to each other; Danny trapped in-between him and Maddie, like they could keep him safe from everything that had happened to him in the last few years.

"I- I'm sorry." Danny sniffled, trying to covertly wipe a hand past his eyes. "I'm sorry for not telling you. I- I-"

"Shh." Jack rubbed Danny's shoulder. "It's okay. We understand, Danny. You must've been so scared. Being a ghost, after all the things we've said – and continued to say."

"I- Yeah." The boy huffed out a laugh, his breath cold against Jack's cheek, and the man spared the tiniest thought to wonder about Danny's ability to play human. How far did it extend? How had it fooled them for so long? "Yeah, it was… It was a whole thing."

"It'll be better now, sweetie, we promise." Maddie looked at Danny, her eyes as watery as Jack's felt. "We'll help you figure this out, okay? Whatever you've been doing to stay true to yourself despite… despite becoming a ghost, we'll help. Okay?"

"Um." Danny blinked, then wiped a hand past his eyes with more force. "Wait, what do you mean?"

Jack felt a chill crawl over his spine, completely unrelated to the cold.

Maddie glanced over at him, but must've seen that he would be no help, because she settled for trying to explain herself. "The… The staying true to yourself? That you haven't changed, haven't become malevolent, despite what happened?"

"Why would I… become malevolent?" Danny frowned, looking between them. "I mean, I guess ghosts tend to be a bit fickle, but I'm not…"

His eyes widened. "Oh. You think I'm… _Oh_."

"We think you're… what?" Jack hesitantly asked, hoping that this wasn't going the way he thought it was. If Danny believed that he wasn't really a ghost, if he'd gotten this far by _pretending_ , blowing the secret could be disastrous.

Danny shook his head, then covered it with his hands and groaned loudly. "I can't believe- I should've _known_ , dammit."

"Language, young man," Maddie corrected, then looked startled at having done so. Danny rolled his eyes, but it seemed to have broken him out of his mood again, at least.

"You think I'm… dead?" he guessed, cocking his head. They nodded, and he nodded back. "Yes, well, I'm not."

Maddie glanced over at Jack, and he grimaced back. He didn't know how to deal with this. How do you tell a ghost that he's dead, that he's a ghost, without risking him turning violent?

"Danny, sweetie," Maddie finally tried, "You have ghost powers."

"Well, yeah." Danny raised one hand to his neck, starting to rub it in that way he'd always done, ever since he was young. "But I'm not a ghost, not really."

Jack raised a skeptical eyebrow at the boy, and he started spluttering immediately.

"I'm not, I swear! It's- Alright so it's kinda complicated and I don't really understand it because the only guy who's got the same going on is a _dick_ , but-"

"Language!" Maddie snapped again.

Danny waved a dismissive hand, then picked up right where he'd left off. "Alright, so the other guy is a bastard who refuses to share. Anyway, as I was saying, I'm not really a ghost. I'm only _half_ ghost."

"Half?" Jack reluctantly asked, his heart clenching at how frantic Danny looked. God, had his boy really constructed this whole lie, just so he could pretend he wasn't a ghost? Was this what he'd told Sam, and Tucker, and Jazz, to make them believe that he wasn't hurting?

If Jack figured out what bastard had made Danny believe this, or god, who might've even made it up in the first place, they were gonna have _words_.

"Well, yeah!" Danny managed to wrench himself out of the hug, which had loosened over the conversation, and moved a few steps away. He gestured at himself, but Jack wasn't sure what they were supposed to see. "See, totally human like this! Well, okay, not completely 100% human, but mostly!"

"Danny-" Maddie said, her voice heavy with emotion.

"No, no," the boy interrupted her, holding up his hands. They were still red with cold, starting to turn blue near the tips of his fingers. "I just gotta- Wait, you'll understand it if you see it. Jazz did too!"

"See what?" Jack asked, even though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer. Danny and Phantom were one, they were pretty sure of that, but that didn't _mean_ anything. Ghosts didn't necessarily have set appearances. Danny could've made two distinct forms for himself, especially if he thought he was something ridiculous as _half-ghost_.

"This!" Danny exclaimed as a white spark burst from his body. It circled around his body, forming a halo, searingly bright and almost impossible for Jack to look at. The light seemed to sweep over Danny, replacing his thick jacket and loose pants with an oh-so familiar black jumpsuit.

God, and how often had he and Maddie wondered about how familiar Phantom's suit seemed? How often had they looked at it, its design that exactly matched their own, and not recognized it?

"See?" Danny gestured at himself again, his boots as white as they snow they were buried in, his black suit stark against the backdrop. "And now I'm mostly a ghost! But still not 100%, just I wasn't 100% human in that form!"

Jack shared a pained look with Maddie, a silent conversation on how to tackle this. They couldn't… They couldn't let their son lie to himself like this, right? Even if he was… Even if he likely would be hurt, knowing the truth. A white lie, an untruth, would only hurt more. Right?

"Danny," Jack finally said, as gently as he could. "Son. Who told you… Who told you you were half-ghost?"

"I, uh…" Danny shrugged, his eyebrows scrunching together like he hadn't expected them to so easily accept the whole Phantom thing. "I mean, I came up with it, initially? Or, well, me and Sam and Tucker, I guess. Since things didn't quite check out? But I got plenty of confirmation after. Just ask the ghosts, or Plasmius."

"Plasmius?" Maddie repeated uncertainly. Jack frowned at this, too. Plasmius _sounded_ like a ghost name, but it wasn't one he'd heard before. Had a ghost been in repeated contact with their son without them realizing?

Well, it wouldn't be _impossible_ , he supposed. There might've been moments when Phantom went unnoticed, when he wasn't fighting. He easily could've met with other ghosts during those times.

"Yeah!" Danny nodded, leaning back a little as he lifted off of the ground, floating like he'd always done so. Jack, with pain in his heart, added another strike to his "Danny actually being a ghost" list. Floating came naturally to ghosts, to ectoplasmic beings, not gravity-bound humans. "He's the other half-ghost I mentioned! But like I said, he's a jerk, so he refuses to tell me much about it. Most of the stuff I know I figured out myself, or some things I was told by other ghosts."

"Sweetie… Don't you think those other ghosts might've lied to you?" Maddie made a complicated face, clearly trying to get Danny to figure out the truth slowly. Without having to break his heart directly. "You don't exactly get on well with them, after all."

Danny shook his head. "Nah. I mean- You're right, I don't get along with most of the ghosts, but that's not… There's no point in them lying about this. Believe me, it was already _pretty clear_ that I was only half ghost before I ever even _met_ another ghost. And I've got allies – friends – among them too, and they… they wouldn't lie to me about this."

Light flashed, blinding with all the snow around them. Danny landed easily, his sneakers sinking into the snow. The snow, which hadn't been present in Phantom's hair, was still in Danny's. Still a mix of black and white.

"I mean, I was always confused why no one connected the dots before. I mean, most people aren't looking to connect a human identity to Phantom, but I figured that you two would figure it out sooner or later." He shrugged easily, even if his expression didn't match the casualness of the motion. "But based on your confusion, I guess you two didn't think it was possible? Or, uh, still don't think that it's possible, I guess. But I promise you, it's true. I'm half ghost, and half human."

Jack and Maddie shared another uncertain look. They didn't just _think_ it was impossible, they _knew_. Years and years of research into ghosts, into ghostly illnesses and the effects of ectoplasm on the human body, it all taught them one thing: you couldn't combine life and death in one body. One couldn't be alive and dead, living and ghost, at the same time.

"Danny," Maddie finally said, voice pained. "Please, just listen to us."

"No!" he snapped back, his eyes turning a vicious acid green, their glow casting eerie shadows on his face. " _You_ listen to _me_! You're always acting like you know _so much_ about ghosts, but you don't! You never listened to me as Phantom, when I tried to tell you that I was good, and you're not listening to me _now_ , when I'm telling you that I'm okay!"

"You _are_ okay, Danny," Jack tried, gently, holding up his hands. "Ghost or not, you're still our son, and you're still _you_."

But Danny vigorously shook his head. "No, you need to listen to me! I'm not _dead_ , and I'm not a full ghost! And if you refuse to believe me because of your _damn_ research, then- then-"

He halted suddenly, eyes growing wide, the green leeching out. So soft it was barely a whisper, he said, "Your research…"

Again, Jack shared an uncertain look with Maddie. But before they could come to any conclusion, any discussion, Danny stepped forward, towards them.

Jerkily, he stuck out one of his bare hands. Pulled back his sleeve to bare his wrist.

"Test it," he said, voice flat. "Your research says that ghosts can't replicate a heartbeat, no matter what, right? So test my pulse."

Jack licked his lips uncertainly, then pulled one of his gloves off. Slowly, he put the massive fingers to his son's wrist. He knew what he would feel, of course. There would be no pulse. Because his son… his son was dead. A ghost. And ghosts didn't have heartbeats, no matter what they believed.

A thump. Jack froze.

Another thump. And then another. A steady, if somewhat slow, rhythm.

"No way," Maddie gasped, and he easily moved when she shoved him aside. She laid her own fingers on Danny's wrist, and must've felt the same, because she grew wide-eyed.

"Uh," Danny said, his other hand rubbing his neck, "Surprise?"


	12. (Un)Known

A short one, as it wasn't a direct prompt per se. I wrote this, instead, for the "I wish you would write a story where _" ask game. As always, if you're interested in participating or sending in a prompt, you can find me on Tumblr as darks-ink! Even if you don't have a Tumblr, you should still be able to send asks on anon, and you can mention your AO3 if you want proper credit.

The specific prompt, by an anonymous asker, was this: "I wish you would write a fic where Danny's school finds out about Phantom, have a proper freak out, but then collectively decides not to let Danny know."

* * *

They had all been gathered. The entire school stared at the screen, empty now, transfixed. There was supposed to be… something. Dash couldn't really remember, to be honest. Hadn't cared to.

But Danny – Fenton – he hadn't known. He'd missed the class where they'd announced it. Just like he'd missed the camera, which he'd paused right in front of.

Dash would've assumed that it was some kinda joke, some kinda campaign – don't bully nerds, they could be super powerful ghosts! – if it hadn't been for the reactions of the teachers, of principal Ishiyama.

Fenton really _was_ Phantom. Holy shit.

"Well…" Mr. Lancer said after a silence so long it could've spanned centuries, "That, hm, explains some things."

"You mean that that's real?!" Star blurted out, then promptly shoved her hands over her mouth, startled by herself.

"You're joking, right?" Paulina insisted from next to Star, but Dash knew them well, and he could tell that she knew it wasn't a joke. This was… this was real. This was serious. "He can't be Phantom, sir."

"He _shouldn't_ be," Lancer said, thoughtfully, a frown on his face. "But he is, somehow."

"But what about his parents?" Kwan asked, loudly, and Dash startled from the sudden voice right next to him. "I mean, don't they hunt Phantom? What's up with that?!"

A silence fell as they all, simultaneously, realized.

Danny's parents hunted Phantom, but loved Fenton. They must… they must not know. Just like everyone else.

"We can't tell them," Ishiyama said. "He didn't tell them, despite the danger they pose to him. There must… there must be a reason for it."

Lancer, next to her, nodded. "Yes, he's guarded this secret with utmost vehemence. Despite all our punishments, the low grades and constant detentions, he hasn't uttered a word about the true reason."

"And he could've been so popular," Paulina added, thoughtful. "Adults might have a mixed perception of Phantom, but _we_ all love him."

"Yeah, and it wasn't just that Fenton didn't give a shit about popularity, because he _did_." Dash ignored the way everyone's eyes turned to him, now. "He was constantly trying all kinds of stuff to get in with us."

"So then… he must really care about keeping this a secret," Star said, her quiet tone clearly audible in the near-silent room. "There must be _something_ that kept him from telling, right, if he had so much to gain?"

"Alright, so we don't tell." Dash shrugged easily. "If he's so intent on no one knowing the truth, we don't tell him we know. Let him think he's doing such a good job of keeping it a secret, so he won't have to worry about this, too."

Lancer frowned, but hummed thoughtfully. "A good suggestion, Mr. Baxter. But I cannot allow a student, a _child_ , to recklessly throw himself into danger like this. Without any adult help, or supervision."

"So then help him," Paulina suggested, a casual tone to her voice that only sounded forced to those that knew her. "Just don't let him know _why_. We can do small things, things he won't notice or think about. We _can_ help, just like he helps us. Unnoticed. Unseen."

She grinned, wide and bright. " _Unknown_."


	13. Hounded

Wrote and posted this yesterday, but I may or may not have forgotten to crosspost it to AO3 and FFn. Whoops. To be fair, I wrote it during a livestream (to test if writing streams were 1. a thing that worked and 2. a thing people were interested in) so things were a little more chaotic than usual. For an anonymous asker, who sent me this prompt: "Could you perhaps do, if you are still doing ficlets, of Wulf getting captured by either Danny's Parents or Vlad"

* * *

"Not so tough now, are you?" his mom taunted, and Danny clenched his fists tighter. Forced himself to take a deep breath, to stay calm.

A scoff from Maddie at the lack of an answer, and then the sound of footsteps as she paced away from the containment area. He could do this. He just… He just had to be brave.

He straightened his spine, unclenched his hands a little. Then, mustering all the courage he had, he stepped down the stairs and into the lab.

The noise of his feet on the stairs immediately drew the attention of his parents, and they both looked up at him. Behind them, deeper in the lab, the only other person looked up too, hope sparking in his green eyes.

"Danny?" his mom asked, her expression hard to read while she was wearing her goggles. "Why are you down here, sweetie?"

He made a face, then shrugged, faux-casual. "Just, uh…" His eyes caught on the ghost in the far back, slumped in on himself, heavy shackles on his wrists and a mean-looking collar around his neck, and he trailed off.

Maddie followed his gaze, then turned back to him, her arms crossed. "You're not here because of the ghost, are you? It's a menace, Danny, like all ghosts."

"You can't do this," he insisted, instead of arguing. He'd tried plenty of times, and so had Jazz. No matter what, they refused to believe them. Preferred to follow their own outdated and misguided research, rather than listen to actual proof. "He's a living creature. Well, not living, but a _sapient_ creature."

Jack shook his head. "Danny, kiddo, ghosts aren't intelligent beings. They're just semi-sentient ectoplasm, doing whatever they want to do. The only good thing this one will do is advance our research."

"No, you can't!" Danny stepped forward, closer to the cage. Its shield was based on a Ghost Shield; it wouldn't affect him in human form. "You can't hurt him! I won't let you!"

His parents shared a glance, brief but meaningful. Then Maddie said, cautiously, "Why not?"

"Because he's- he's-" Danny scrambled to think of a reason. Well, might as well go with the truth, right? "Because he's my friend!"

"Your friend?" his dad echoed, slowly. His eyes were narrowed at Danny, and he had to withstand the temptation to cower under the inspecting gaze. "Since when?"

"And how?" his mom added, her posture considerably stiffer. "You should know better than to associate with ghosts, young man."

"He- He-" Danny glanced past them, at the enormous ghost that laid there. His bright green eyes gazed back, clearly following the conversation even if he didn't understand it. Like this, it was like nothing had ever changed. He'd just traded one prison for another.

"He saved my life!" Danny blurted out.

"What?" both of his parents exclaimed, in perfect unison.

"I, uh, yeah." He shrugged, an attempt at returning to his previous casualness, like he didn't regret spouting that out. "He saved my life, during that first ghost invasion, with all those guard ghosts? A, uh, a bunch of those surrounded me, wanted to attack me. Wulf fought them off for me."

His parents shared another uncertain look. Behind them, Wulf seemed to pick up on the change in mood, ears cautiously perking up. The tip of his tail started twitching into something that was almost a hopeful wag.

"Why didn't you tell us?" his mom asked, coming closer and pulling her goggles up. "Why did you rely on the protection of this- this _ghost_ instead of us?"

"Well, I didn't exactly get a choice, did I?" He flapped his hands, aggravatedly. "They just pounced me! What did you want me to do, tell them to wait so I could call you guys?"

"It doesn't even speak a real language," his dad muttered, frowning at Wulf instead of looking at Danny. "Just some made-up gibberish."

Danny shook his head. "Nah. I mean, it _is_ made-up, because all languages are, but it's not gibberish. He speaks Esperanto."

"And how do _you_ know that?" his mom asked skeptically, one eyebrow raised.

"Tucker taught me," he told her honestly, letting his muscles relax just a tiny bit.

He'd planned on breaking out Wulf as Phantom, but his parents had recently updated the anti-ghost protection, and he wasn't sure _how_ yet. He figured he could try as Fenton instead of risking getting caught himself. "A lot of nerds speak it, apparently, as a secret language."

His mom crouched in front of him, frowning at him, clearly not convinced. She stared at him, and Danny straightened his spine and stared back. After a long moment she seemed satisfied, because she stood up again.

"Not overshadowed," she told Jack, simply.

"Wait, what?" He felt like someone had upended a bucket of ice water over him. They really thought he was overshadowed because he was, what, protecting a ghost? Like he and Jazz hadn't defended them before? "Yeah, I'm not overshadowed! I'm your actual _son_ , telling you that I won't let you hurt this ghost! What about it?"

"We had to be sure, kiddo," his dad said, tone almost cheery but clearly fake. "You never know with those ectoplasmic bastards."

He growled, then stomped forward. Past his parents, not stopping until he stood next to Wulf's cage. The ghost sat up a little in interest, ears perked and tail slowly thumping against the ground. Danny swung out an arm in his direction.

"How would he even have done that? You guys have him _locked up_! Look at him!"

"It could've send a friend." His mom narrowed her eyes, staring at him and Wulf behind him. "It would make sense."

"More sense than me wanting to protect him for _saving my life_?" Danny balled his fists, forcing down his anger. He couldn't have his anger take over, couldn't have his eyes glow. That would be disastrous, would ruin everything he had achieved. "Or do you just refuse to accept that _maybe_ not all ghosts are bad?"

Narrowing his eyes, he stepped closer to the side of the cage, three pairs of eyes following him. "Now, either you guys are gonna free him, or _I_ will."

"You wouldn't," his dad said, moving closer despite his words. "Danny, it could revolutionize our research! A ghost capable of making ghost portals like it's nothing! Imagine what we could do with that knowledge?"

Danny, quite frankly, didn't want to. His parents might not have felt inclined to enter the Ghost Zone via their own portal just yet, but if they started creating temporary portals? Who knew what kind of innocent ghosts could be captured and dragged into their lab?

He shook his head violently. "No! I won't let you experiment on him! If you want to learn more about his abilities, you can settle for _asking_ him, like a _normal person_! And maybe, _maybe_ , if you hadn't resorted to," he threw out his hands, gesturing at the lab around them, "to this, to locking him in a cage, maybe he even would've helped! But here we are!"

"Danny," his mom said, voice low and icy, "Step away from the ghost."

"Sure." He smirked, moving another step to the side. He saw all the eyes around him open wide, his parents' in shock and Wulf's in excitement. Then he slammed down his fist on the large red button on the control panel.

With a hiss, the containment unit opened. A click released Wulf's collar, and an additional two clicks loosened his shackles, too.

The ghost pushed himself onto his feet easily. Wrapped his clawed hands around the sides of the now-open cage as he walked out, nails clicking on the steel floor and tail swishing behind him. His green eyes moved over Danny's parents, then settled on him.

"Hey Wulf," he greeted the ghost, inclining his head. Then, in Esperanto, he added, _"They didn't hurt you too bad, did they?"_

"Amiko," the ghost said, matching him with a head-bob. _"No, it was only the cage. You came before anything could happen."_

Danny opened his mouth to reply, but his mom stopped him before he could say anything, a furious expression on her face. "How could you?!"

"How could _I_?" He whirled around to face her, seeing Wulf puff himself up to loom over him, protectively. " _You_ are the ones who locked my friend, someone who saved my life, in a cage! _You_ are the ones who threatened to hurt him, to experiment on him!"

"It's a ghost-" his dad started, but Danny interrupted him before he could get further into the spiel.

"A ghost, yes, yes, I know!" He blew out a noisy breath. "Honestly, is that all you can say? If Wulf had been human you would've sung his praises for all eternity for less, but because he's a ghost he's a vile being bound to betray me? Come on, man."

He could see both of his parents reach for ghost weapons, as covertly as they could. So he stepped right in front of Wulf. Then, purposefully, turned his back fully to them, looking at Wulf instead.

" _I think it's best if you leave. I don't want you to get hurt."_

The ghost narrowed his eyes, ears lowering to his neck. _"They are upset. I don't want them to hurt you instead."_

" _They won't,"_ Danny insisted, shaking his head. _"They might be willing to shoot Phantom, but they won't hurt me. It'll be fine, Wulf, I promise."_

Wulf hesitated a moment longer, then nodded, clearly reluctant. He tensed his paw-like hands, claws fully unsheathing.

With another nod of assurance from Danny, Wulf wound back his arm, then soundlessly ripped through reality to form a portal to the Ghost Zone. He took one last look, then jumped through the portal.

The tear repaired itself almost immediately, and it was like nothing had ever happened.

Until Danny turned back to his parents, and was greeted by their furious expressions.

He laughed, a last kernel of dread in his stomach, and said,

"So, uh… I guess he's not welcome back?"


End file.
